Dear Santa,

As I can tell from your sturdy physique that you are a person who clearly enjoys good food. I can just imagine some of the delicious North Pole fare you and the Missus are tucking into these days: pickled herring in mustard sauce, lingonberry and cloudberry jams, and, of course, that traditional arctic specialty, reindeer sausage. Well, come to think of it, that last one probably isn’t a favorite in the Claus household.

I, too, love good food which explains why a grown man like me is writing to you with a Maine food wish list. To be clear, this is not a list of Maine food items I want to receive myself. That will be sent to you under separate cover. Rather, this list represents my wishes for all of Maine’s food sector. Since you seem to have connections in high places, perhaps you can help one or more of these wishes to come true in the coming year.

For the record, I think you’ll find that my name reappears on your “good” list this year. Sorry, again, about all those parking tickets in 2004.

So, here’s the list:

First, I wish that more Mainers will choose to eat Maine foods in 2006. As you know better than anyone else, this is the season for giving. What few Maine residents realize is that by buying Maine foods, they give the gift that keeps giving. I’ve learned that money spent on foods coming from Maine swooshes merrily around in the local economy like mulled cider in a pot at a holiday party whereas money spent on foods from away leaks out like that same hot cider served in a soggy Dixie cup.

Currently, 96 percent of the $3 billion Mainers spend each year on food is flowing out of the state economy to pay for foods coming from out of state. Surely, Maine eaters can help reduce that flow by actively looking for and asking for Maine foods at their local grocery stores, cafeterias, and restaurants.

Second, I wish that Gov. Baldacci, in announcing his choice for the new commissioner of agriculture early next year, will appoint someone who embodies all of Rudolf’s best qualities. By this, I mean that he or she should be a natural-born leader and capable of illuminating the way for Maine’s farm and food sector through the fog of today’s global food market.

The Department of Agriculture is full of capable and dedicated people. We need to ensure their time and talents are directed toward those areas offering the best opportunity for sustained and sustainable growth.

You have probably noticed from your many moonlit flights over our state that our farms are very different from the large industrial farms of, say, Iowa or California. They’re smaller, more locally focused, and, because of their scale, more environmentally appropriate for our troubled environmental times.

With all those little elves helping you out, I certainly don’t need to explain to you just how productive small producers can be. I’m hoping our governor and our next commissioner will be big enough to think small in terms of where the state invests its resources.

Small-scale, local agriculture represents the fastest-growing segment of Maine’s agricultural sector and can continue to grow with the right person at the reins. Also, like Rudolf in the reindeer stable, the new commissioner shouldn’t be unaccustomed to stepping in a little you know what from time to time.

Third, and last, I wish for a new sense of unity and synergy among Maine’s many farmers, fishers and food producers in the coming year. Food is central to Maine’s history, identity and well-being and there’s no state that has the richness and diversity of our marine and agricultural resources. Showing pride in and loyalty to Maine food products won’t save the world, but it can help preserve our little part of it.

Oh, yeah, one last thing: my boys asked me to remind you that we moved this past year. It would be a shame for all those Maine food items, um, I mean toys, to be delivered to the wrong address.

Happy holidays to you and Mrs. Claus,

Roger Doiron

Roger Doiron works for the Eat Local Foods Coalition of Maine, a nonprofit group committed to increasing the in-state consumption of Maine-made foods.